Rail and tie clamp



May 15, 1928. 1,669,436

1 a F. WILSON, SR I RAIL AND TIE CLAMP Filed Oct. 3, 1927 7 ,jiz: 'I; Z3 I Patented May 15, 1 928.

an 1 5T ATES ream: wrnson, sat, tonnes ANGELES, onmronnra, assrenonrrro ANNIE [rmnounfor Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

1,669,436 PATENT barrios. i

dRA'IL AND rm CLAMP.

Application :fliedflctober a, 1927 Serial No. zzaesa.

My invention nelatesito -a-olam-p device, for use in railway construction and the like, which is an improvement, \on. the device shown in imy pending application for; a; ;patent on a railway and tie :clamp, filed :May 3,1927, under SerialN'o. 188,580..

The primary object of :my invention is to provide an'improve'd'rruiland tie clamp, for holding a rail securely and rigidly bound to a tie, while serving as a resting plate for the rail and a protection for the tie, so that the former can not cut into the latter and induce decay therein. 1

A further object is to provide a-rail and tie clamp, of the character described, which will facilitate railroad building and will materially reduce-the labor involved therein.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter and while I show therewith and will describe a preferred form of construction, I desire it to be understood that I do not limit my invention to such preferred form but that various changes and adaptations may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention as hereinafter claimed.

A practical embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which,

Fig. 1" is a fragmentary plan view of a railway having my improved rail and tie clamp used in its construction.

Fig. 2is a similar view of railway having a slightly modified form of rail and tie clamp from the preferred form shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged end view of one of the ties and a fragment of rail secured.

thereto by my preferred form of clamp.

Fig. 4: is a sectional View of the rail show ing the clamp as seen at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the U- bolt which forms a part of my preferred rail and tie clamp.

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the plate member of. my improved clampg As in the former application, my im proved clampis shown as used with rails 10 and wooden ties 11 of the types generally employed in railroad building,and the clamp similarly consists of a plate member 12 made of plate metal of sufiicient thickness and stiffness to insure the necessary rigidity, and a U-bolt 13 large enough to embrace the tie diagonally. The plate member rin the present case, however, is made relatively wider than in the former case and the connectingbur 14 0f the U-bolt is madev correspondingly longer so that the arms 15 thereof are spaced somewhat further. apart. 1

. The plate 1s cut longitudinally, at each end, and diagonally opposite corners are bent to form vertical lugs 16, alternately with straight lugs 17 left on the other diagonally opposite corners thereof. Holes 18, spaced to receive the ends of arms 15,. are made in lugs 17 and slots 19, adapted to receive the flanges of the rail are cut in lugs 16. short longitudinal cut is made in the middle of the plate and two somewhat longer'parallel tIZLIlSX'BlSB cuts are made therein, at the. ends of the short longitudinal one, so

as to leave solid flanges 20 on opposite sides of the plate, The cut-a-way parts inthe middle of the plate, arethen bent upwardly and inwardly toward each other to form a pair of complementary oifset lugs21 which stand above the plane of the plate so that gaps 22, coinciding with slots 19, are formed between lugs 21 and the plate proper.

In the process of building a railroad the ties are laid'in place with U-bolts 13 thereunder, in approximately their proper positions. A suitable number of the plate members 12 are then strung on the ends of the rails, the flanges of the latter passing through slots 19 and under lugs 21 of the former, andpare shifted into properly spaced positions to correspond with the ties. As the rails are laid on the ties the ends of the U-bolt arms 15 are guided through holes 18 in the plate members and nuts 23 are turned on and tightened up as soon as the rails are properly spaced and aligned. After the nuts have been thoroughly tightened the ends of the U-bolts are battered to prevent their turning backward or becoming loose from the vibrations incident to traffic.

The modified form of clamp shown in Fig. 2 consists of a modified plate member only, with which the usual form of railroad spikes26 areintended to be used. The plate is made similar to the one shown in Fig. 6, except that lugs 17 are omitted.

It will be seen that the offset lugs 21 of my improved clamp cooperate with vertical wmson lugs 16. in gripping the fianges 27 of the rail, and-vertical lugs 16 extend high enough I toserve as braces on both sides of the rail, so that when the plate member is secured to the tie, by means of the U-bolt 13, no lifting or tripping of the rail is possible. The main advantage of my present rail and tie clamp over the former one is that it eliminates the necessity for drilling holes in the rail flanges to receive the ends of the U-bolts and it is more reliable because of'the offsetlngs 21.

Having thus illustrated and described my invention I claim:

1. A rail and tie clamp comprising a plate member adapted to be placed between a rail and a tie; a Ub0lt adapted to embracea tie cooperatively with said plate member; 0H"- set lugs formed in the middle of said plate member, adapted to grip the flanges of a rail, and diagonally opposite vertical lugs on said plate member, adapted to brace both sides of arail and to grip the flanges of a rail cooperatively with said offset lugs.

2. A rail and tie clamp comprising a plate member-adapted to ,be placed between a rail and a tie; said plate member having holes in diagonally opposite corners thereof; a U- bolt adapted to embrace a tie with its ends projectingupwardly through the holes in said plate member; a pair of complementary oltset' lugs in the middle of said plate member. adapted to grip the flanges of a rail; and a pair'of complementary vertical lugs, on diagonally opposite corners of said plate member. adapted to brace both sides of the rail and togrip both'rail flanges, cooperatively with said ofi'set lugs; 3

-FRANK WILSON, s. 

